Gotham Central is a police procedural that takes place in the Batman universe, but this story arc — and this issue in particular — leans much harder into the former thing than the latter thing… at least until the big, final page reveal of who Renee Montoya thinks has been trying to ruin her life. Really, you could lift 99 percent of this issue out and it work as a couple of scenes from a Law & Order episode, and I think that’s a testament to Greg Rucka’s strength as a writer of this kind of a cop fiction more than anything.

He elegantly deploys some cute tropes here, like a couple of hardened cops having a vaguely absurd and unrelated conversation as they visit a crime scene (to indicate that they’re not phased by graphic violence), or like the little interrogation room tricks that TV cops pull to get under someone’s skin (making them wait for a long time for no reason, “accidentally” letting them see who else has been brought in for questioning).

Despite the (continued) use of homophobic slurs here, I don’t think Rucka and Michael Lark are trying to cast the GCPD in a bad light or make them look dumb. I think it’s more about showing that Renee Montoya is, obviously, too smart for those tricks to work, solidly positioning her as the hero of this story — and not just the protagonist. She’s in a tough spot, and ends this issue locked up for a murder she didn’t commit (spoiler alert), but you don’t get the sense that she’s stuck playing defense. She just hasn’t had the opportunity to make her move yet.

Plot-wise, not a ton happens here, or at least not a ton that isn’t trying to trick you into thinking Montoya might have actually murdered a guy. I won’t waste my time pretending that’s what happened and I won’t waste your time pretending that’s what happened, because come on. She’s on the cover of the dang book (including the new DC Compact Comics edition of Gotham Central that’s coming out next week).

The only real plot movement happens on the aforementioned last page. Montoya knows who was behind the murder of Marty Lipari, who leaked the photo of her and her girlfriend, and who planted a bunch of heroine in her house and stole her gun: Harvey Dent, a.k.a Two-Face.

Cool reveal! Imagine a reader getting a little tired of the tropey cop drama, wishing there were a few more costumed criminals in this book (it has been a long time since Mr. Freeze was put away), and then finding out that a proper A-lister is on the way.

The Untitled Comic Book Newsletter Book Society continues next week with the eighth issue of Gotham Central. Read along at home! Email me your questions or comments if you can find my email!